


Midnight Solarium

by ForensicSpider98



Series: Love After the Fact [64]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alien Biology, Alien Cultural Differences, All this stress is bad for the baby, Altean Adam (Voltron), Altean Prince Lance (Voltron), Alternate Universe - Arranged Marriage, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Aromantic Asexual Pidge | Katie Holt, Balmeran Hunk (Voltron), Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, F/M, Galra Shiro (Voltron), Galran Prince Keith (Voltron), Gen, Gender-Neutral Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, M/M, Moral Ambiguity, Moral Dilemmas, Multi, Nonbinary Pidge | Katie Holt, Olkari Pidge | Katie Holt, Post-War, it's keith. keith is the baby
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-06
Updated: 2020-09-06
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:34:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26313508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ForensicSpider98/pseuds/ForensicSpider98
Summary: The beginning of the rest of their lives, again.
Relationships: Adam/Shiro (Voltron), Alfor/Coran (Voltron), Allura/Lotor/Romelle (Voltron), Haggar/Zarkon (Voltron), Hunk & Pidge | Katie Holt, Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Series: Love After the Fact [64]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1635043
Comments: 33
Kudos: 160





	Midnight Solarium

When they get home, Keith holds out his arms for BleepBloop, cuddling his friend close in an effort to avoid thinking about the dead one being buried by her master. Running hands over his pet’s soft, plush fur, Keith’s eyes find Lance’s bloodied hair, red-soaked clothes clinging to his skin.

“Lance, you-”

“Need a bath, I know.” A shower would be better, but Galra don’t have those. Just a round tub, carved out of the stone floor, a small, carved water basin beside it. “I’m gonna go do that.”

Keith nods, sits on the floor with his pet. BleepBloop pats his cheeks, like how Keith taught him a long time ago. “Hey, buddy. How was your day?” The primate chitters softly. “Yeah? I’m glad.”

Biting his lip, Keith’s eyes find the bathroom, the dim candle light flickering in the entryway. He can hear water, a bristle brush running over scales as Lance is no doubt struggling to scrub half-dried blood from his scales. He sets BleepBloop down, gives him a little nudge. “You go on, now. Go hunt.”

Once the primate’s scurried off, Keith stands, brushes dust off his clothes. There’s blood on his, too, though only a little. Lance bore the brunt of this battle. He thinks back to a couple phoebs ago, when they were attacked in their bed. He wonders if Lance still thinks about, dwells on it, if he still searches for answers.

“Lance?” A hum answers. “Can I join you?”

“If you want, sure.” There’s a tone of surprise, which doesn’t surprise Keith in the slightest. Either way, he slips out of his clothes, into the bathroom. Settling on the edge of the basin, legs on either side of Lance's lean frame Keith rests his hands on Lance’s shoulders. There's water running through the tub. Lance had left it unplugged, rinsing blood from his skin and scales.

“You have blood in your hair,” Keith whispers, sliding fingers up into his spouse’s starlight locks. He takes a water pitcher and pours it over the Altean’s head, spreads some soap over his palms, and begins to work it out.

“I thought you were joining me,” Lance mutters, tipping his head back.

“Didn’t want the blood to get any dryer. I’ll join you when I’m done.”

“As you wish.”

Nothing is spoken for some time, Keith focusing on his task, Lance enjoying the attention. Keith can see his smile when he tilts his head back. When they do speak again, it’s Keith that starts.

“What do you know of our wolves?”

“Nothing at all. Why?”

“Beneath Mount Sil’Brana is a petrified forest. Trees made of stone, branches like arms holding up the ceiling. There, among those trees, are the bones of my ancestors’ ancestors. The first of us. There are carvings- on rocks, on the trees, into the walls of their burrows under the ground, of wolves. They have been with us, our companions, since we even began. A friendship as old as our society.”

Keith passively scrubs Lance’s hair, more running his hands through it than actually washing it. His thoughts are so convoluted, the man before him so complex, but the simple task before him helps put everything in better order.

“The wolves are sacred to us. Their lifespan is similar to ours, and Galra warriors and hunters only ever takes one for a companion, if one at all. That person today… They lost a friend that should have been theirs for a lifetime. But you preserved her blood, and her legacy. A strong, brave animal like that… She deserved to leave something behind, and she did. Thanks to you. 

"It was kindness, Lance, what you did. You shortened her suffering, eased her packmate’s grief, and saved a life.”

“That cub…” Lance closes his eyes as Keith rinses his hair free of pinkened suds. “He will grow up without a mother. That is not an easy thing, beloved.”

“I know.  _ Life _ isn’t an easy thing… I forget sometimes just how violent you can be. Alteans are not a very nice species, really, but it’s hard to reconcile that with your treatment of me and those around you.”

“I like to think I am better than they are,” Lance confesses. “But in reality, I’m probably just different at best and weak at worst. If that’s even the worst.”

Keith leans forward, wrapping his arms around Lance’s chest, resting his cheek on to of his head. “I don’t know enough to argue with you on that, but I like you better than the vast majority of Alteans I have met.”

“I should hope so,” Lance says, a smile finally finding its way back into his voice as Keith slips into the hot water, plugging the tub before settling next to him. “I’d hate to not be your favorite. Can I unbraid your hair?”

Keith nods, twisting away so Lance has easier access. “You don’t have to worry, you know. About being my favorite. I could never choose anyone else. I wouldn’t want to.”

“I wouldn’t either, beloved. So I won’t.” Brown-skinned hands find Keith’s waist, running up and down his sides, his abdomen. Keith allows it, allows Lance to hook his chin over his shoulder, nose against his cheek, breathe in his scent. Lance is learning. He’s learning to treat him how a Galra would treat their mate. How to love him and scent him and touch him.

A man ahead of his species.

“Do you ever think about it?”

Lance blinks, mind not at all prepared for guessing games. “What now?”

“I just- I never thought it would be you.”

“Me?” Lance all but purrs as the very tips of Keith’s claws scritch at his scaled thigh, sliding over the smooth skin underneath. The scales on his cheeks start to glow.

“I have met so many people since Shiro found me and brought me here. Commoners, nobles, soldiers, hunters, warriors… The last person I ever expected to love was the son of the man who hurt me the most." Keith's loose hair tumbled over his shoulders and into the water.

“Alfor’s men killed my father. Another wandered into my home, wounded, and when I tried to save them, they drew a weapon against me. My experience and understanding of them is first that they are cold and cruel, and second that they are ignorant and selfish.

“I hadn’t thought, even for a moment, that you would be someone I could love.”

“I understand.” Lance wraps his arms around him, almost possessive, definitely desirous. “I didn’t think I’d love you either. I had hoped, but I figured the best I could expect would be friends, and friendly acquaintances seemed far more likely.

“It’s a wonderful surprise, loving you. Still, I wish you hadn’t been thrown at me underage. I embrace our alliance, and the alliance between our peoples, but I don’t think I’ll ever forgive a child being married into my care. And I can never truly respect a man who would perpetrate such a thing.”

Keith nods, sliding in between Lance's legs to rest his head on him chest. He pieces the words together, trying to articulate his thoughts.

“It’s hard, sometimes, to imagine what might have been, not because I hurt, but because… Really, my pain means nothing. My pain against the pain of billions? That’s nothing-”

“It’s not nothing, Keith. No one’s pain is nothing.”

“But not everything has been bad. We act like it has, but the truth… the truth is… I-” Keith sighs, giving up on whatever’s stuck in his mouth. Instead, he rubs his cheek against Lance’s scaled breast, working his scent into his skin.

Lance gently guides him back, coaxing their gazes to meet. A thumb brushes over a sharp cheekbone, a cheekbone fundamentally incongruous with a pair of wide, soft eyes luminescing in the dim light. “Don’t do that to me, beloved. Don’t close up on me. Please?”

‘Beloved’. An endearment that had found its beginning as a display, a show, part of the façade they’d been assigned. And yet, over time, it had gained meaning. Keith was beloved of Lance, precious, valued,  _ adored _ . A self-fulfilling endearment.

“I never would have known you. That’s-” Keith hesitates, cautious in giving himself away. “That’s not a reality I want to think about.

“There are so many other realities where you and I never meet. Where we run in circles around each other. Where we run at each other head first, at the speed of sound, only to dodge at the very last tick.

“I don’t want to think about those, or how things might have been, or maybe even should have been. I’d rather think about this one, where we did meet, where we collided.” Keith lifts Lance’s hand, grips it tight, watching their fingers lace together. “We were forced together, and it was horrible, and I’ll never quite forgive either. But this? Here? The way we’ve been lately, it doesn’t feel forced at all.”

Keith reaches up, releasing Lance’s thigh, and gently brushes thumbs over the soft scales on Lance’s cheeks. His greatest vulnerability. Except there’s no fear in Lance’s face. Instead, the Altean closes his eyes, leaning into the touch. Nothing but trust.

“This might be the easiest thing I’ve ever done,” Keith whispers.

Lance draws in a shuddering breath, leans in to press a kiss to Keith’s forehead, pull him into an embrace, skin against furred skin. “I wouldn’t say you’ve been the easiest, but you're definitely the best. Absolutely my favorite.”

Keith’s ear twitches with the bold affection, with their current state, flapping against Lance’s jaw. Lance snorts, flicks it, kisses it to make sure Keith knows he’s not bothered by it.

“So this is new. I can see…” Lance trails knuckles up and down his side, other arm still wrapping around his waist. “Most of you.”

“Yeah, well you’ve seen plenty before, I’m sure, so-”

“Hey, beloved.” Lance tugs on his hair. “I didn’t mean anything by it. I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. It’s… Nice. Being here with you. Feels nice. Safe.” He draws in a deep breath, hot water, gentle hands, cool, scaly skin filling him with well-being, much needed for both of them after the evening’s sour turn. “I love you.”

“I love you, too, beloved. Always.”

“See, that’s the thing.” Keith sits back in Lance’s lap, frowning. “I love you, and you love me back. And that’s- That’s important, right? And what we do with that love is important, too.”

“I agree.” Lance’s eyes are scrutinizing him, he can feel it. “What exactly are you getting at?”

“I’ve thought a lot about… things, and I’ve made a decision. I’m healthy, and adjusting well to adulthood. I have access to necessary medical care. I trust that I won’t become nothing more than a breeder- I think we should have a kit.”

“Off your first season?” Lance’s voice is so soft, like a gentle breeze. “Are you sure?”

“The only reservation I have left is that I’ll be giving everyone the satisfaction of seeing me mated and pregnant, and allowing myself to follow the relatively toxic breeding culture of my own species. But I want this. For me. For us. And I know you want it, too. That should be all that matters.”

“Absolutely. I want that, too. A family to call my own, to build for myself." Lance's pointed ears droop, thinking of his own broken life. "However, I’m not touching you unless-”

"Yeah, I know. So you've said." Keith smirks at his spouse. He drapes his arms over Lance’s scaled shoulders. “You really are more scales than skin. And so  _ hairless _ .”

“We, uh. We balance each other out, Mr. Cat.” Lance plays with the thick ridge of stiff fur trailing down Keith’s spine. “So what happens now?” the Altean asks. 

“Well, I know what I’d like to happen now… If it’s okay with you?”

“What’s that?” Lance knows, or at least has taken an educated guess, but he’d still have Keith say it.

“Make love to me.” Enormous eyes glitter like amethysts, night lenses flaring like amber. “Make me yours. Mind, soul, and body.”

Their lips meet, though neither can be sure who leans in first. Lance slips his tongue inside Keith’s welcoming mouth as their bodies become a tangle of arms and legs, thoughts and feelings. 

Lance keeps it brief, a pressing question getting in the way. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah, that’s why I said it.”

“Sorry for checking,” Lance mutters.

“Shut up and kiss me.” 

It's only then that Lance notices exactly how Keith's nose crinkles just a little when he laughs. It's adorable. He brushes some hair out of the Galra's face, smiling. 

"Nothing less could do."

**Author's Note:**

> Next time on Love After the Fact: Lance dreams of an old memory. (This was way back from when we did that vote. To all of you who were excited to see this, I'm so sorry it took so damn long. The rest of the options are coming up soon, too.)


End file.
